How to add nicknames to Siri

Christopher Minasians |
March 8, 2016

Looking to make a call through Siri, but have too many similar contacts? Here's how to give your contacts nicknames!

You happen to be regularly calling your friend David (because he is a cool guy) and want to call him through Siri to make your life a little easier. Unfortunately, you've got a few David's on your contact list and cool-guy David isn't easily recognised through Siri.

No problem! Your personal assistant Siri has got you covered through the use of nicknames. If you're on an Android phone you can add a nickname to your Google Contacts.

Adding a nickname through Siri

There is a good selection of pre-made nicknames you can assign your contacts and through this list, you'll be able to link a pre-made name (such as: Manager) to one of your contacts.

In order to do this, you'll first want to ensure Siri is enabled through Settings > General > Siri. Once enabled, hold down the Home button to launch Siri. With Siri now open, you'll be able to assign a nickname to a contact by either describing them or by asking Siri to call an unassigned nickname.

For example: 'Call my manager' will prompt Siri to look for a contact which has the 'Manager' relationship linked to its contact card. If Siri is unable to find the contact which has an accompanying relationship it will ask you if you want to assign a contact to the specified nickname. In our case we assigned David Work as a Manager.

Alternatively, you'll be able to tell Siri: 'David Work is my manager', where Siri will ask you to confirm your contact's relationship with you.

Once you've assigned a nickname you can 'Call my manager', which will direct Siri to automatically initiate a call to 'David Work'. Read next: Complete guide to Siri.

Adding a nickname through the Contacts app

If you're looking to go through each contact and add a new relationship or related name, you can do so by hitting the edit button by your contacts.

Scroll towards the bottom of your contact's details to reveal the option to add a related name or relationship. Click on the green plus sign to open another tab which will present you with a variety of pre-written options and even the option to add your own custom word.

Once set, hit Done and you'll now see your contact with a nickname (or two if you chose to call your contact a Chicken - Sorry David!). Read next: Siri for Mac release date rumours.